Morning From Yavapai Point, First Snow
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

This photo looking down into the Grand Canyon from Yavapai Point was made in early December of 2006. The first snow of the oncoming winter had fallen the day before. It wasn't a heavy snow, and only stuck on the rims, not down in the inner gorge. In this photo, you can see some on a rock ledge at lower left. A lot more is on the North Rim on the horizon. The North Rim is 1,000 feet higher than the South Rim.

It was very cold. The temperature plunged to just below zero degrees Fahrenheit at night, and not a whole lot warmer during the day, especially given the stiff biting wind. Perfect conditions for scaring away all but a few hardy tourists at a time, at least in the morning. Afternoons brought out a lot more people, but nowhere near the numbers seen in warmer weather.

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